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Marius
Marius Pontmercy (born 1810) is a main character, and the love interest of Cosette. He fights at the barricades with Enjolras and the Friends of the ABC when Eponine tricks him into going to the barricade and (since he believes Cosette is lost to him) he resolves to die. Marius is the only one among the rebels at the barricade who does not die there (when Jean Valjean saves him). Background/Role in the Story Marius was brought up by his maternal aunt and wealthy grandfather, M. Gillenormand from a young age, and lived a sheltered, carefree life, not knowing anything about poverty. During his adolesence, when he receives word that his father, Colonel Georges Pontmercy, is gravely ill, he initially refuses to travel to pay his respects, since he believed his father abandoned him to his grandfather and since he had never received any replies from the letters he sent him. In reality, his grandfather told his father that Marius would be disinherited if his father had any contact with him. Later that evening, Marius hires a carriage to take him to Vernon, arriving the following morning just a few hours late of his father's death. He is greeted by an acquaintance named Mabeuf, who gives Marius his father's testament. Later that day, at the Luxembourg Gardens, Marius reads his father's testament, which states that he passes on title of baron (which he received while serving Napoleon, along with the title of colonal) onto his son, and that he loves him, and believes he is suitable enough to succeed him. Surprised by this, Marius begins to study up on Napoleon when he first formally meets classmate Courfeyac. The duo talk about Marius's upbringing and his concerns feeling as if he misunderstood his father up until now. It's in this conversation in which Courfeyac displays some of his disapproval with the current society looking down upon those who need help, particularly the poor, and the two become acquaintances. While visiting church, Marius once again meets Mabeuf, who tells Marius that his father had come to mass regularly, hiding in the back so as to not violate the agreement and cause his son to be disinherited. Marius is strongly touched by this proof that it was actually his grandfather who had been keeping them apart, and he begins to idolize his father. After an argument with his grandfather, Marius moves out and remembers a passage from his father's will: a general named Thénardier saved his at the field in the Battle of Waterloo, and should Marius ever have the chance to meet with him, he wishes Marius could show his appreciation towards his benefactor. Marius sets off looking for him over a period of months, eventually hearing of an inn in Montfermeil called the Sergeant of Waterloo, in which the innkeeper, named Thénardier, often boasted about how he saved a man during the Battle of Waterloo. When Marius arrives to the inn, he finds it abandoned and returns to Paris, moving in with Courfeyac at his apartment. Marius begins to grow closer to both Mabeuf and Courfeyac over the next few weeks when one day, his aunt arrives at his apartment and pleads with Marius to return home, his grandfather having regretted his actions. She attempts to give Marius some money from his grandfather, but he rejects it, and sends her away. Having rejected the money, Marius finds it hard to support himself, and begins to sell items while also working as a translator as a means of earning money. Eventually, Marius moves out and moves to the Gorbeau House in the slums of Paris, where the rent is cheap, and the only amenity is having a roof over one's head. His neighbors at his new home are the Thénariders, living under the alias of Jondrette. During his stay, he often has run-ins with the Eponine, and the two forge a bond. Éponine, meanwhile, harbors a crush on Marius, but believes a man such as himself wouldn't fall for a shabby girl like her. One day, Marius runs into Courfeyac again, who introduces him to a society called the Friends of the ABC, a political society committed to social change. In the very first meeting he has with them, he argues with their leader, Enjolras, an anti-Bonapartist republican, then leaves the group. Nevertheless, he remains on good terms with the group, especially Courfeyac. After leaving the group, Marius takes a stroll in the Luxembourg Gardens and spots Jean Valjean and Cosette sitting on a bench, and, out of the blue, the two adolescents fall in love with each other at a glance. The next day, Marius returns to the Gardens holding a marigold flower in his hands and leaves it on the bench that Cosette and Valjean frequent. After a few minutes, the father and daughter arrive as Marius is about to leave, and Cosette keeps a hold of the flower. It is starting with this moment that Marius frequently attempts to approach the two and introduce himself, only to be intimidated by Valjean and back off at the last moment. During one of these moments, Valjean intentionally leaves his hankerchief behind bearing the initials U.F. (for Ultime Fauchlevent), which Marius mistakens as Cosette's, and assumes her name is Ursule. He keeps it with him, cherishing it often, and follows them home to learn of their address. After frequent encounters at the Gardens, Valjean and Cosette move out, due to Valjean thinking that Marius is a spy for Javert. This leaves Marius in a state of depression, and having nowhere else to go as well as needing some support, he occasionally visits the Friends of the ABC. Six months later, he overhears the commotion of his neighbors, the Jondrettes ransacking their own apartment in order to over-emphasize their poverty to a benefactor coming later that day to deliver food. Watching through a small opening in the walls between their rooms, Marius sees that the benefactor is actually Valjean, and is even more surprised to see Cosette accompanying him on the visit. He listens in to hear Jondrette lie about the monthly rent, and making an arrangement to have Valjean return later that evening with half-a-year's rent. A few hours later, Marius overhears Jondrette talking to one of the members of the crime gang Patron-Minette about setting up an ambush when Valjean returns in order to extort more money. Marius quickly heads to the police and notifies Inspector Javert of the situation, making an arrangement to stay quiet in his apartment and fire a gun into their air once all of the members of the Patron-Minette have gathered. When Valjean returns to Jondrette's apartment, he and Patron-Minette attack and bind Valjean. Jondrette reveals that his name is actually Thénardier, a fact that shocks Marius. He doesn't want Valjean to die, but also doesn't want to betray the man that "saved" his father at Waterloo. Eventually, Marius throws the slip of paper Éponine had written on earlier (the one that said "The police are here") through a crack in the wall. Thénardier reads the note and recognizes Éponine’s handwriting immediately. The Thénardiers and Patron-Minette throw a rope ladder out the window and are about to flee when Javert (who had become tired of waiting for the pistol shots) intervenes and arrests them all, except Valjean who escapes through the window. Marius then moves out of the Gorbeau tenement, due to the violence he witnessed and also so that he cannot testify against Thénardier. Marius once again moves in with Courfeyac, and it is also during this time that he asks Éponine if she can find Ursule's address, to which she relunctantly agrees, and succeeds in finding for him. Over the next few days, Marius visits the home and eventually meets Ursule in the courtyard. Marius returns Valjean's hankerchief to her, thinking it was her's, to which the duo laugh, introduce each other's names, and their relationship blossoms for weeks by nightly visits in the courtyard, until Valjean shatters their bliss when he announces to Cosette that they will be leaving for England in a week (in part due to Marius's frequent visits leaving noticable evidence that someone has been invading their property, and due to the fact that Thénardier and Patron-Minette have broken out of prison). On one of Marius' visits with Cosette, Thénardier and Patron-Minette attempt to rob Valjean and Cosette's house, which Éponine prevents by shouting in the street. Eventually, Cosette tells Marius about the move, causing much distress for the pair. Marius goes to Gillenormand to try to reconcile and to get permission to marry Cosette. However, after Gillenormand simply rebuffs Marius's love as a passing fling, Marius storms out of the house, insulted. Marius returns to Cosette’s house, but finds the house no longer occupied. Advised by someone (Éponine, disguised as a boy) that his friends are waiting for him, he goes to the barricades that the Friends of the ABC have set up, deciding to fight with them, since he believes Cosette is lost to him. On the night of June 5th, Marius is ambushed by a police officer. Éponine takes a gunshot for him and confesses her background to him, (including that the young street urchin taking part in the battle, Gavroche, is her younger brother, and that she and Cosette lived with each other during their childhood), hands him a letter written by Cosette which includes their new address France, and proclaims her love for him before dying in his arms. Differences from the Novel • Appearance-wise, Marius has Anime-style, straight golden brown hair, while in the novel, he is described as having short, dark, curly hair • After Valjean reveals his past, Marius doesn't have much time to say anything in response before Valjean leaves while his back is turned, distracted. In the novel, Marius cuts off most of the bond between Cosette and Valjean after the revelation for Cosette's safety, but allows Valjean to visit her once per day Differences from the Novel Quotes